Young and Old
Plot Percy the Small Engine puffed into Tidmouth Yard for a drink of water at the water tower. Gordon backed down into the station, and glared at Percy. "Don't you have better things to do than fill up your water tanks?" the big engine huffed. Percy blinked, confused. "What do you mean? Steam engines need water." "Can't you at least do it after fetching my coaches?" Percy gasped immediately, remembering. "Oh no, your coaches! I completely forgot! I'm sorry, Gordon!" "Pfft, you're about as sorry as everyone else on this railway. Just hurry up and don't bump them about like you always do..." Percy was cross; Gordon didn't seem to care about his apology. "Bossy boiler..." The water stopped flowing into his tank and the water pipe was put back where it was. He reversed back into the yard to collect the coaches. The green engine quickly found them and was coupled up by a workman. "Hurry up, hurry up! The express cannot be late!" Gordon grunted as Percy puffed into the station. "Can't you be nice once in a while, Gordon?" Percy huffed. "Little engines are merely shunters, that's all. I just expect them to be on time, which you rarely are." "I'm always on time!" pouted Percy. "No you're not." "Are too." "Are not." Percy found no sense in arguing with Gordon so he just biffed the coaches into him. Gordon jerked forwards and scowled. "What did I say not to do, little Percy? Don't bump the coaches! They're very fragile, aren't you?" The coaches were flattered. But Percy wasn't. "Hmph... I'm going to take a goods train." "You do that, but stay away from me. Dirty trucks cramp my image as an express engine..." Percy was furious as he backed down onto his trucks. "That Gordon makes me cross!" he muttered. "Us too," said a truck. Percy looked back. "Really?" "Well, of course. He always disrespects us. You, at least, are a goods engine." Percy was about to retort when another truck spoke up. "I do have a way of paying him out...if you're interested." Percy was a little worried. "But you aren't supposed to listen to trucks." "Oh please. Trucks don't just cause trouble," the truck said indignantly, "Some are nice... ish." "I like paint," said a different truck. "See? He's nice." Percy blinked. "Um... okay... What's your plan?" The trucks whispered the plan to Percy, being careful to be extra quiet so nobody would hear them. The green tank engine grinned broadly. "That's a brilliant idea, trucks! It'll be just like what Thomas did to him a while back!" He whistled and set off for Vicarstown, which was his destination. Soon, Percy was out in the countryside, determined to pay Gordon out. "Are you sure this'll work?" Percy asked to the trucks. "Of course, Percy! This always works," a truck smirked. Percy gulped and puffed up to find a junction in the distance. Suddenly a loud whistle blew. "Out of the way!" Gordon growled as he stormed along the rails, "I have no time for games!" Percy suddenly grinned and whistled loudly to the signalman in a nearby signalbox. "Express coming through!" The signalman gasped and switched a lever to make sure Percy didn't crash. Gordon's eyes popped open when he realized that Percy was moving across the junction. "Percy, move! Now!" Percy gasped. "Oh noooo!" Gordon tried to brake, but Percy had a longer train than usual, and Percy wasn't as fast as Gordon, so he went a bit slower. Percy and Gordon shut their eyes tightly, as Gordon braked just in time. Suddenly there was a crash. Percy opened his eyes to find that Gordon had bumped the brakevan a bit and had lightly come off the rails. "Oh the indignity... Why don't you watch where you're going, you silly tank engine?" Percy said nothing; he was too ashamed to. The trucks just laughed at the situation, knowing it wasn't their fault. Gordon's driver called for help, and soon, Edward arrived with Jerome and Judy, and Winston followed silently behind with the Fat Controller Percy gulped as Edward came to a stop on the other track in front of Percy. "Oh my, this looks like a big mess." Jerome commented. "Percy and Gordon, what happened?" Edward asked. "That's what I'd like to know," the Fat Controller said crossly as he walked out of Winston. Percy moved his lips to try and form some sentence, but he didn't want to look sillier than he already was, and especially not in front of Edward. Gordon, still indignant, started to explain. "I was rushing along with the Express, sir, and then comes along Percy, going against his signal to wait for me! So then, I lightly crashed into his brakevan because of his stupidity!" Percy looked down in shame; he had to admit that he did act rather foolish. The Fat Controller wasn't pleased at all. "Percy, my only guess is that you've been taking tips from Thomas, but that's not a good thing. We don't need you causing trouble now that Thomas has learned his lesson... I think you should know by now not to pass a red signal!" Percy managed to form a few words. "...I'm...sorry, sir... But... Gordon was teasing me..." "Even so, that's not a good excuse to try and pull something like this off. This could've been a lot worse and you know it." "...yes sir..." Percy stuttered. The Fat Controller just shook his head. "Percy," Edward said gently, "Words can be very powerful, but sorry means you truly learned your lesson. To be honest, we can't be sure if you have." The Fat Controller nodded. "Edward is right. You need some form of punishment. I think you've been spending too much time with Thomas, so that's why I'm going to send you to another branch line." Percy gasped. "What?!" "What about my branch line, sir?" asked Edward, "I could teach him a few wise things so he doesn't make these mistakes again." The Fat Controller smiled. "Ah Edward, I knew I'd count on you. An excellent suggestion." "But who's going to take my place?" Percy asked urgently. "I figured you'd ask that. I'll send Billy in your place. The Norramby Branch isn't too busy right now anyway." Percy's face fell; there weren't any more excuses. "Uh sir, can we actually clean up the mess now?" Winston suggested. The Fat Controller cleared his throat. "Oh, uh, of course. Jerome and Judy, you know what to do." Judy smiled. "Of course, sir!" So the two cranes set to work, putting everything right. When the mess was cleared, Gordon was still in a bad mood. "I'm not damaged, am I sir? Because if I'm not, I'm leaving." "No, the damage is very minimal at worst," the Fat Controller said, "Carry on, Gordon." Gordon grinned as he stormed away with the Express. "But what about my goods train?" Percy asked sadly. "Edward can take it. Right, Edward?" "Of course. I'll see you on my branch line, Percy." Edward was coupled up to Percy's train and he puffed away. Percy felt depressed. Later that afternoon, Percy puffed into Wellsworth, still upset. "What am I even supposed to do here?" he grumbled. "Oh. Hello Percy." said a voice. Percy looked over to find BoCo smiling at him. "What brings you here?" the Diesel asked. "I'm forced here by the Fat Controller," Percy complained, "Edward's supposed to teach me about respect or something like that." BoCo frowned. "Oh, so that's what this is about, eh?" Percy cocked an eyebrow, confused again. "What do you mean? You've heard about it?" "Yes. Gordon grumbled about it the whole way to Barrow. He's pretty loud for someone who wants to not embarrassed by anything," BoCo explained. "Oh... I see... That still doesn't explain what I do here though." "From what the yard manager has been told, I think you're supposed to manage the yard so Edward can help you more. Doesn't sound too bad, right?" BoCo asked. Percy sighed, still discontent. "I guess not..." "Well, I have to go to Crocks Scrap Yard now. I'll see you later, Percy." And BoCo dieseled away. So Percy set to work. First, he had to arrange some new and empty China clay trucks for Timothy. "Bother," he said to himself when he saw that some oil tankers were in the way. A shunter fastened the coupling and Percy tried to pull. "Come on, you stupid tankers!" The tankers just giggled. "Ugh, seriously? I don't have time for this!" Percy spluttered as he tried to catch his breath. The tankers laughed even harder than before. The little green tank engine was losing patience when Edward puffed next to him. "Having trouble, Percy?" Percy looked over and smiled sheepishly. "...perhaps." Edward chuckled. "I understand. Troublesome Trucks got their name for a reason. But I know how to deal with them." "I thought I did," Percy pouted. Edward trundled forward to where the tankers were sitting. "Excuse me? Tankers? I do know you like to cause trouble, but my friend Percy is learning something and the train of trucks cannot be late. Maybe you can take your brakes off? Just this once?" The tankers considered. "Well, it is Edward saying this." said the front tanker. "And we like him. He's nice to us," another one agreed. "Alright, we'll do it," the tankers said in unison. Edward smiled. "Alright, Percy. You can pull them now!" Percy was still skeptical, but heaved with all his might. To his surprise, the tankers rolled easily in front. Percy was pleased. "Thank you so much, Edward!" Edward giggled, pleased to see that Percy was learning. "It's what I'm here for - you just have to be kind to trucks and they'll do as you say." "I'll keep that in mind," Percy said as he shunted the oil tankers into a different siding. "Can you handle things for a while? I have some goods to take," Edward continued. "Oh. Sure." And Edward backed out of the yard. A few minutes later, the trucks were sorted as Timothy backed down onto the new China Clay trucks. "Thank you, Percy! Have you come back for more monsters?" he teased. "Very funny..." "I'm only joking, Percy," smiled Timothy, "I'm still a bit confused, though. Why are you here?" "As punishment," Percy muttered. "Oh. I hope it all works out." And Timothy puffed away. Percy still felt a bit down, but did feel better that Edward was with him. Throughout the day, Percy marshaled the trucks for the other engines on the branch line. Without Edward to guard them, though, the trucks were still pretty troublesome. "Hold back! Hold back!" "Pull! Pull!" "You can't shunt us! You can't shunt us!" This got Percy frustrated. "Trucks, stop it!" Gordon puffed into the station with the returning Express. "Ha ha ha, hello little Percy! I see you've been demoted to a small shunter!" Percy was furious. "Leave me alone!" But Gordon was already out of sight. Percy grunted in frustration. By the time he reversed into the sheds that night, he felt exhausted. "That was a long day..." Percy sighed, "And those big engines were no help." "What do you mean?" asked BoCo. "Gordon teased me again while I was shunting some trucks! This is just frustrating at this point!" the little engine said darkly. Derek and Edward exchanged a worried look. "Percy..." Edward began, "I think it's time you learned to not listen to teasing." "How can I not, Edward? It hurts!" "I completely understand your point, Percy; I've had my share, after all. But worrying over what others think of you only puts you down. Every engine goes through this phase sooner or later. Luckily mine passed rather quickly. Yes, teasing can hurt, but Gordon still respects you as a friend." "What makes you say that? You're just too nice," Percy huffed. "If he didn't respect you, I think he wouldn't of rescued you from that runaway when you first arrived." Percy stopped scowling and looked at Edward. "Well..." "Gordon's not a bad engine, Percy. He just expresses his pride too much, and since you are smaller than him, he thinks you dawdle a bit sometimes. Like today. That doesn't give him the right to say things like that, but still, he means well at heart. No engine is perfect, Percy. Not even me." "Huh?" Edward smiled, remembering when he was young, a long time ago. "Heh, I remember my first day when I bumped the flatbeds of rails back when we were building the railway... The Fat Controller wasn't pleased, and I quickly learned my lesson. But still, I can make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them." BoCo and Derek grinned. "A fine speech, Edward," Derek said, "I'm sure even I learned a thing or two from that." "Agreed," BoCo murmured. Percy was still a bit confused, but closed his eyes; he had enough to think about for one night. The next morning, Percy woke up to find he and Derek, were the only ones in the shed.. He gasped. "Oh goodness gracious, I'm late! I better get moving!" Derek chuckled as he rolled out of the shed. "Calm down, Percy. You're not late." Percy blinked. "What?" "It's true, Percy," the Fat Controller stated, as he walked up to him. "Oh... Hello sir..." Percy said nervously. "Edward has put in a good word for you. It seems you're learning to be less cheeky. I'll admit, I was surprised to find you were already improving. You aren't leaving for Thomas' Branch Line yet, but you are going to take some trains of scrap to Crocks Scrap Yard. BoCo already shunted one for you." "Wow," Percy gasped, "They did all this for me?" "Yes, Percy. I advise you to thank them when you next see them." "Oh, yes sir! I will sir! Goodbye, sir!" Percy whistled and he raced to pick his scrap up. As Percy set off for the scrapyard, he was still surprised about what Edward and even BoCo did for him. "Wow, I can't believe they did that for me!" Percy suddenly felt a lot better about things as his wheels surged forward. At the Scrapyard, Reg was putting an old tyre into the crusher. "There we go!" Reg smiled, "That'll be crunched up soon enough!" He perked up when he saw Percy arriving with a few trucks of scrap. "Oh, Percy! I haven't seen you since last Christmas! How are you?" "I've been doing okay, I guess," Percy said as he came to a stop next to the grappling crane, "Yesterday was all over the place for me." "Do tell," said Reg with interest as he grabbed a pit of old rusted pipes. "Well... The Fat Controller sent me here to learn to be less cheeky. I'm not sure if it's working." "Oh, aren't you lucky...!" teased Reg. Percy snorted. "I guess..." Reg chuckled to himself as he grabbed a piece of scrap. But just as soon as he was about to move, he stopped and the scrap dropped to the track beside Percy.. Percy was worried. "What's wrong, Reg?" Reg sighed. "Oh... It's just that I'm out of fuel. Does anyone have any more?" The workmen all shook their heads. "Well... this could be a problem..." Reg muttered, just as a familiar whistle blew in the distance. Percy and Reg gasped. "It's Edward!" Edward puffed along his branch line with some coaches, feeling pleased. "Percy will soon be back on Thomas' line, I'm sure," he said to himself, "He's doing very well so far." But unknown to him, the pile of scrap was on his track! "Cinders and ashes!" Percy cried, "What do we do?" "I can't move," sighed Reg, "I've run out of fuel and there's no more... How predictable... And inconvenient...and-" "Reg, I don't care about the obvious! Edward's coming and might have a horrifying accident!" Reg thought for a second. "Maybe you can push that scrap somehow." Percy felt a flash of determination through his boiler. "Right! Let's go!" He rushed forward to the junction that connected his line and Edward's, smashing into the twisted metal to try and get it out of Edward's way. "It's not working!" Percy wailed. Reg gasped as looked to his left. "He's coming! I see his steam!" Edward began humming a random tune. "Hmm, this is catchy." "Try again, Percy!" Reg persisted. Percy reversed and banged the scrap again, pushing some pieces off of Edward's track. Edward rounded a bend, nearing the scrapyard. Percy groaned. "I'll never do it in time!" "Never say never Percy! Unless you're out of fuel like me, but that's besides the point." the grappling crane said with confidence. Percy, with all his strength, banged the scrap one more time. This time, all the pieces fell into the ballast beside the rail. "Yes! I did it! I did it!" Percy yelled and blew his whistle multiple times to show his excitement. "Yes you did Percy! Though you may...want to get off of Edward's track." "Huh?" He looked to his left, gasping as Edward rushed into the scrapyard. "Percy?!" Edward cried out as his driver applied the brakes. Percy cried out with horror as he backed out of the way, just in time. Nevertheless, Edward came to a halt, surprised, worried and a bit cross all at the same. "Percy! You should know better than to stand near a junction like that! I could've hit your bufferbeam or worse!" Percy winced, not sure what to say. "Excuse me Edward, but I would think you wouldn't jump to such conclusions!" Reg scolded. Edward rose an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" "He saved you from crashing into that scrap beside the line!" the crane explained. Edward glanced to the scrap and cringed. "I... see... I'm sorry for judging, Percy. I'll be sure to tell the Fat Controller that you are a hero!" Edward promised as he steamed away. Percy beamed. "I am a hero?" "I'd say you are," smiled Reg. The little green engine felt very proud indeed. As he puffed into Wellsworth Sheds, Edward blew his whistle and BoCo and Derek honked their horns. Bill, Ben, Marion and Timothy had come from the Clay Pits to congratulate Percy too. "Well done, chap!" Derek grinned. "A fine piece of work, if I do say so myself!" BoCo chuckled. "Indeed. That was some quick thinking," agreed Timothy. Even Bill and Ben were impressed. "To be honest, that was pretty heroic," said Bill. "I'd say it was on par with us rescuing Thomas from that landslide...almost," smirked Ben. The Fat Controller held up his hand for silence. "And then you saved me from that landslide, Percy! Oh, it was majestic...or...was it vice versa?" Marion said. "Shush!" whispered Timothy. Marion blushed. "Oh. Sorry." The stout gentleman walked up to Percy, smiling from ear to ear. "Well done, Percy, well done. I'd say this was a quite impressive thing to do for your friend Edward." "Th-thank you sir," Percy said quietly, slightly overwhelmed by all the attention he was getting. "This proves that you have learned your lesson since the incident on the Main Line, so I think you're ready to return to your normal jobs." Percy smiled. "Thank you sir! Though I would like to visit this branch line too sometime... I mean, it is a nice line." The Fat Controller chuckled. "I'm sure we'll have time for that, too, with a bit of change in the timetables here and there. I expect you in the yard tomorrow morning." And he got back into Winston, who winked at Percy. "You got him in a good mood, which is a good sign," he snickered. Percy looked to the other engines, slightly saddened. "I'm just a bit upset I have to leave so soon," he said sadly. "Oh it's alright Percy. We'll see you soon," BoCo replied. "And... I do want to thank you for your bravery, Percy. I could've gotten into an accident that I'd really not desire at the moment. It takes a skilled engine to think so quickly, so with that, I'd say you you are an Enterprising Engine." said Edward with a hint of pride. The engines cheered once more as Percy left for Ffarquhar, ready to tell his old friends of his adventures. The next morning, Gordon was backing down onto the platform, gawking at the sight of the express coaches already there. "Who shunted these for me already?" he gasped. "I think Percy did, Gordon," Thomas giggled as he set off with his morning train. The big engine just stared. He did? ''Gordon was a bit confused as Percy puffed beside him. "What's gotten into you?" the big engine asked. "I wanted to make sure you were on time today, Gordon. I'm sorry for being late yesterday, and trying to get revenge," Percy said. Gordon was surprised, but managed to form a smile. "I'm sorry too, for being so pompous about my image. I didn't mean to rush you. You weren't really that late." "Thanks lazybones," quipped Percy as the two engines shared a laugh. Edward smiled as he came to a stop at another platform; he had heard everything and it seemed that the bonds between the engines of Sodor had only grown larger, as they should. Characters * Thomas * Edward * Gordon * Percy * Toby * Bill and Ben * Timothy * Marion * BoCo * Derek * Winston * Reg * Jerome and Judy * The Fat Controller * Molly ''(cameo) * Porter (cameo) * Diesel (cameo) * Salty (cameo) * Stafford (cameo) * Annie and Clarabel (cameo) * Cranky (cameo) * Billy (mentioned) Locations * Tidmouth Yard * Tidmouth * Wellsworth * Wellsworth Yard * Crocks Scrap Yard * Wellsworth Sheds * China Clay Pits * Brendam Docks * Ffarquhar Sheds * Vicarstown (mentioned) * Barrow (mentioned) Trivia * References to the eighteenth season episode The Perfect Gift ''and the specials ''Tale of the Brave and ''Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure ''are used. Category:Sodor Adventures Category:Future Releases